Home is where the heart is
by merderola
Summary: What if Beckett and Castle lived together in DC after all? What if Beckett hadn't been fired? Right after 6x03 (Need To Know), before Castle answers the door.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: What if Beckett and Castle lived together in DC after all? What if Beckett hadn't been fired? Right after 6x03 (Need To Know), before Castle answers the door. **

**Hey there! This is my Caskett Fanfiction, the one I talked about maybe writing. I wrote it! And now this is just a first chapter to see what you think of it, and whether or not you want me to go on with it. I'm not a native speaker, so please apologize any grammar/spelling mistakes. It's extremely important for me that you review this with your opinion. I want to know what you think! **

After a full make out session in the couch, still a little astonished by Castle's decision, Beckett can't stop grinning and kissing him. All kinds of touching Castle could get, he was getting. He most definitely was –oh, he was. After such act of kindness and love, Beckett could only think she had to make up to him somehow. And, let's just say, making up to him isn't quite the obligation – has never been anyway.

Beckett took off his tie, along with his shirt, and left him breathless under her skin. "Are you trying to ravish me, Detective?"

As soon as Castle kissed her neck, she was a goner. Unable to reply, she simply nodded, kissing his lips fiercely and softly all at once. His adam's apple was the sexiest thing Beckett's ever seen, so she kissed him there too, making no effort to hide her moans and sweet reactions, reaching for him in her most desperate way.

So many ways to make up for it, Beckett was still a little dazed. And so she did.

"Can I just say how hard it is to breathe right now?" Castle asked, leaning down to swiftly kiss her neck.

Kate laughed a little, happier than she had been in almost a month. It's almost unbelievable how she still had that effect on him. Unbelievably awesome.

"Same," she adds. Hands around his waist and hair falling down to his chest, she was so reverent.

"Wow, Kate Beckett. After everything I just said, all you can say to me is one word? That's seriously disrespectful." Richard Castle feigned offense.

Kate sighed. "What do you want me to say after the whole ravishing that happened around here? That you're amazing? A sex god? You know, I could say all those things, but I don't think that's what you need to hear."

Rick kissed her pouty mouth and got out of bed. That got him a sigh from Beckett.

"Get up, love. We've got some things to do before I move in to DC," he announced.

Kate slowly let herself out of bed, making a huge effort to make her legs work again and walked beside him only to give him a slow, sensual, tongue involving kiss that had him thinking about spending all day in bed with her instead of packing.

"Fuck," Rick cursed. "You can't do that to me. You've got me completely turned on in a matter of seconds, point proven, but we still got a lot of packing to do, if you want me in your new home."

Kate bit her bottom lip in an attempt to have him completely at her mercy, but it didn't seem to have worked.

"Come on, Kate. Do you want me with you or not?" Rick headed to Alexis' old bedroom, to find a couple of suitcases he could use for his moving in process.

Beckett sighed and he heard it. She approached to Alexis' bedroom to help him choose the best suitcase and what to do with it. As they separated some clothes and put it inside a big and black suitcase, Kate decided to stop joking and talk to him about how seriously grateful she was feeling.

"You know I really do appreciate you doing this for me, right? It's uh… I thought we were going to make it work long distance, which is not something we couldn't do, no, we would… It's just- I missed you. Spending a month without seeing you hurts me and I'm really glad we won't have to go through it again. But, of course, if we had to, we would." She stopped, waiting for his reaction; one that didn't come. Rick was just looking at her, admiring her natural beauty as she confessed her love for him in the softest way, with messy hair and his boxers on. Seeing as she had no reply, Kate decided to go on. "Right?"

Rick realized he left her uncertain when he didn't reaffirm her sentences, which was an honest mistake, really. He didn't plan to leave any uncertainty in his words or his love for her. And so, he thought kissing her would be best. That way, he did it.

Soft, tender. Just a touch of their lips. Not sensual, not in a way that would have her naked against a wall, nothing that even seems that way. Just as if they were already married, even though they've been engaged for so little time.

Beckett ran her fingers through his hair and smiled with her mouth closed. Ah, so lovely – the way she looked at him, so reverent and with desire and passion all at once. He wishes he had found someone like this before in his life. A mother of his child, for example. But that doesn't matter, because all that matters is they have this right now - him and Alexis.

"Of course we would. Even if things got really complicated, I wouldn't let go of having you in my life and you know it. Anyone that reads my books' dedication knows what I'm talking about. And I'd be really pissed off at you if you told me you haven't." Castle was Castle again. Making jokes. Lust in his eyes. Love too.

Kate rolled her eyes at him. Of course. How long had it been since she didn't roll her eyes at him? Maybe forty minutes, when they were packing and he asked her about condoms? So yes, Kate was Kate again. Detective Beckett.

They were going to be fine. DC or not, they knew right from the start they would make it work. And they were making it work. Kate was going to make sure moving to DC had some really good perks for both of them. If he was willing to make this kind of effort for her, then she might as well do at least the same.

**A/N: Review? Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Please review this! Sorry for the long time without updates!**

Kate could only manage to get home early in the morning due to a case they had to solve the night before. She spent hours trying to figure out how to close the case with other FBI agents. Although hard, they did it. Beckett got home at 6:50 in the morning. She found Castle asleep in the couch as she walked in. That wasn't like him. He would always sleep in their bed. But then again she was there most of the time.

Taking her coat off and setting it on the table next to her, Kate kissed Castle's cheek in an attempt to wake him up.

"Mhmm," Castle murmured. "I haven't seen you all night last night."

Beckett decided long ago that she would not apologize for doing her job, since it was extremely important to her. But she actually felt like she owed Castle explanation, even though she didn't have a schedule of her own at the FBI. "I had to close a case. We did just barely."

"You must be exhausted. I missed you though." He got up from the couch and kissed her softly but quickly on the lips walking towards their bedroom.

"I missed you too."

A lot.

He doesn't even know how much she missed him. A new job, having to prove herself every day to several different agents who never even heard of her... Kate was going through a lot at work and didn't have as much time as she liked to spend with Castle. All she wanted to do was cuddle with him.

Kate Beckett's desire was to cuddle with Castle. It was usually the other way around. With that thought in mind, she went to bed and fell asleep with Castle sleeping on his side already. Oh, well.

Castle woke up three hours later and saw his fiance sound asleep next to him. She looked so beautiful he didn't want to wake her up, ignoring his need to have her around him longer. He woke up wanting to play poker with his friends back in New York. Realizing this was impossible, he thought of someone else - someone he had known for years, a close friend. Not a writer, unfortunately, but an architect. An architect who happened to play poker as well. Rick decided to give him a call, since he lived in Washington now too, and meet his friend.

"Richard Castle? Is that really who called me?" Joshua Jensen said on the other line.

Rick smiled at himself thinking of how much time they spent without talking to each other. Maybe two or three years. "Yes, Joshua, it is indeed! How's it going?"

"Everything's fine. May I ask you the reason of this call?"

"I moved to DC. It's a long story, but that's what you need to know right now. I'll explain it all later. Listen, I was just wondering if you still played poker."

Joshua smiled. Of course he did. "Sure do. Want to meet me and my poker group some time soon? It would be a pleasure to have you join us."

"Yeah, that's the whole reason I called. But maybe we should see each other first, and then meet your poker group. How's that sound?"

"Sounds great. How about this afternoon? We could go get coffee somewhere and then you'd tell me why you've been missing for two freaking years!"

Rick felt a lot better. Things were working out. He could do that. He was completely willing to meet his high school friend Joshua and make some other friends later. He felt so lonely lately that this was an actual relief. "We'll do that, Josh. See you later."

When he hung up, Rick felt Kate wrapping her arms around him from behind and kissing his neck. Ah, what a good morning greeting.

"Hey," Rick smiled and turned around to kiss Kate. It was a good kiss. Not quick and soft. It was long; his need for her speaking louder.

"Who was that on the phone?" Beckett asked, running her fingers through his hair.

Rick thought of whom she could be talking about. Ah. Joshua. He completely forgot he even talked to Joshua just seconds ago. "It's a friend from high school. Joshua Jensen? Ever talked to you about him?"

Kate had her hair in a messy bun that looked adorable without her even meaning to. He loved her and missed her so much. "Maybe? I don't really remember him all that much. But what are you guys up to?"

"He lives in DC, and I haven't talked to him in over two years. I just thought now that I have some time and I am here, why not meet him for coffee or something:"

"Mhm. Yeah. When are you guys meeting?" Kate didn't sound very happy.

"Later this afternoon."

She frowned. "Does it have to be today though?"

"Well, yeah. That's what I just told him. Why?"

"I just haven't had much time with you at all and I miss you. I have the afternoon off and I had plans of things we could do together."

Castle looked puzzled. How was he supposed to know? It's not like he can simply call his friend he hasn't seen in two years and say that it can wait some more.

"It's already 1PM. He texted me just barely saying to meet him at 2." Castle looked at Kate's sad expression.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll try to FaceTime Lanie or something. Maybe watch an old movie, get to reading a new book."

"Kate, I'm sorry, but you can came with us too, you know? It's about time I introduce my fiance to my high school best friend." Rick smiled softly. That way that made everyone around him melt.

Kate looked at him and shook her head. "It's fine, babe, you two have fun. I really do need some time for myself too, you know? Just to read or watch something alone. I'll see you later, then?"

Rick thought of saying something else to make her come with him, but chose not to. He really needed to make some friends to spend time with while she was at work. He now had plenty of time to write and he was Always up to date. Of course, Gina and Paula loved that, but he didn't. Because that only meant that his life was officially boring. Boring enough that he had time to write three novels in a month if he wanted to.

"Yeah. It shouldn't take long. I'll be back at 3 or so, okay? We can still watch a movie together."

"'Kay. We'll do that. Have fun, Castle." Kate smiled and turned away, heading towards their bathroom.

Rick got there before Joshua, and sat at the coffee table waiting for his friend. Not long later, Josh arrived.

Josh was pretty handsome; even Rick admitted it. When they were in high school, both Rick and Joshua would get really good attention from the girls. Simply because they were extremely charming.

"Hey! Long time no see!" Josh hugged Rick and sat in front of him.

"I know! Two years not seeing each other. Life's been crazy." Rick smiled and shook his head.

Josh was pretty straight forward. "Crazy good or crazy bad?"

"Little bit of both. I'm engaged, did you know that?" Rick grinned widely, he couldn't help it.

"I did, actually. Famous novelist Richard Castle proposed to this hot dectetive whose name I forgot. But yeah, I might have seen that somewhere."

Rick avoided to explain himself. "Yeah, that sums it up." Then he just laughed.

"Come on, Richard. Explain yourself. How did that happen? Are you just living the perfect life before marriage right now?"

"Ah, I proposed to her right before we moved to DC. Not long ago at all."

Joshua frowned. "What brought you in DC, by the way?"

"She is now an FBI agent. We had to move. Living in New York while she was in DC was not part of my plans. I wanted to make things easier."

"So I take it it's pretty easy now, huh? Now you're just enjoying."

Rick shook his head. "Not quite. She's been, uh, working hard. I don't really blame her; it's part of the job. But I just wish she'd take some time for us to spend together."

Joshua looked at him. "What's her name again?"

"Kate."

"Say that Kate tells you today that she got a weekend off. Two days for the two of you to do whatever you want. What would you plan?"

"A road trip." The words came out before even Castle could think of them. That would be pretty sweet; spend some time with Kate going on a road trip. He never thought of it deeply, since he couldn't get his hopes up all that much for nothing.

"Where to?"

"Do you think I care, Josh? Freaking Hawaii if she wants." He sighed.

"Desperate much?"

Rick sighed again. "I guess you could say so. But now, enough with my problems. How about we talk a little bit about you and your life now, huh? How many more houses have you burned down in the last two years?"

Joshua couldn't help but laugh. "That only happened once! And you helped me with that, so you can't say anything."

Rick joined him in laughter and they shared their high school moments for what seemed like 5 minutes, but were actually over two hours. All their memories together made Castle miss having true friends. Ryan and Esposito were great, amazing friends, but they were so far away. For once in a little while, Castle didn't feel lonely. And that meant a lot to him.

After talking to his friend, Castle checked his phone for a text he received three hours ago from Kate: "Love you."

He remembered that he should've been home hours ago, and his fiancé must not be happy with him.

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter. I promise there'll be more updates this week, and I won't take long posting chapters. My computer broke, but now I got a new one, so that shouldn't be a problem anymore. Please review this! It's very important that I get feedback from you guys, so I can kinda now what to do next. Thank you for reading this =]**


	3. Chapter 3

Castle got home expecting yelling from Kate, but that was not what happened. She was FaceTiming Lanie, who knows for how long, and he could hear her laughing when he got in the apartment.

"Kate?"

"Just a second, Lanie. Castle's here." She set her phone on the bed, where she had been for the past hour. "Hey, Castle. Did you have fun?"

She had changed out of her pajamas and was now wearing casual clothes, just jeans, a sweatshirt and slippers. Kate looked beautiful with her hair down.

"Yeah, I did. Sorry I didn't come earlier, I just completely lost track of-"

"It's fine, Castle. Just let me hang up with Lanie and we can maybe do something, ok?" Kate interrupted him.

He was about to tell her not to hang up with her friend; he could easily watch TV or read a book, instead of getting in the way of her plans. But she was faster than him and told Lanie she needed to go. Considering how long it took for her to hang up with Lanie, she must have asked Kate some pretty good questions.

It took exactly 4 minutes for her their conversation to end, and during that whole time, Castle didn't leave Kate alone. The writer kept kissing her all over, grateful that they were now in the audio call only. Lanie would not let them live it down if she actually saw what he was doing.

Kate gave him upset looks, in an attempt to make him stop, but that only made him even more eager to keep going. Never an obedient child, that one. Castle grinned as Kate pushed him away, but he always managed to find his way back to her.

"Okay, Lanie, I'll try to call more often. Yes. Oh, and good luck with that. 'Kay, bye." Kate put her phone down and turned to Castle.

"Took you long enough," Castle commented and found his way to her lips. Kissing her with need, if not passion, he wiped the upset look on her face. It's not like he didn't know her. He knew that she had to play tough and act indifferent towards him sometimes, when really she was bursting with happiness inside.

Kate broke their kiss to breathe, "Took you long enough. I take it you had fun?"

Standing up from their bed, Kate put a jacket and shoes on, while listening to Castle going on and on about how close Josh and him were as teenagers.

"You think I'm trouble, you should meet this guy! He's just- Beckett, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting dressed. You don't have to, though. You're wearing good enough clothes." She simply replied.

Castle looked puzzled. "Good enough clothes for what?"

"You're going to the park with me."

He loved how she had plans and just bossed him around.

"I am?" Rick grinned.

Kate looked at him as she brushed her hair. "Yes, you are. Now, let's go."

As they made their way to Castle's car, he behaved like a little kid.

"We're going to the park. Could you offer me more details?" He jumped in the driver's seat and watched her make herself comfortable in the passanger's seat.

"Meridian Hill Park. Do you know how to get there?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, pretty sure. I think I've been there once with Alexis to visit her friend Samantha." Rick put his hand on Kate's, driving with one only.

She knew she could trust him to do that. Drive with only one hand. Rick always proved himself to be an excellent driver. It doesn't even matter what car he's driving, he can do a perfect job.

Castle thought of why they would be going to the park. Is it for fun, a simple date exploring their new home; or is it some sort of work Kate had to do for the FBI and she was using him in an attempt to spend more time together?

"So, we're going to the park… to do what?" Rick asked.

Kate smiled slightly, the corners of her mouth turning up. "You'll find out soon enough. Just get us there first."

Castle chose a playlist from his flash drive and plugged it in the car. The first song was one of his favorites; Radioactive, by Imagine Dragons. It had such a good beat and also amazing lyrics… He couldn't help but enjoy it everytime it was on.

Kate didn't complain all that much either. Imagine Dragons was a pretty good band, and she and Castle agreed on that matter.

They listened to his playlist, but only 3 songs. They'd finally gotten there.

He drove her all the way around the park, as far as he could go, and found a spot that didn't have anyone. "Alright. I'll park all the way back to the entrance, and I'll meet you here in just a second." Rick announced, and Kate was pleased with it.

"Ok. I just need to get some stuff out of the trunk, so give me the keys really quick." Kate saw the look on Rick's face, but he didn't ask any questions. He did as he was told, the good boy.

Kate got whatever she needed to get and waited until Rick was completely out of sight to start setting some things up. What she did was: she went to the store and bought fruits, wine, plastic cups and plastic plates, brownies, cookies, chips and sandwiches. It was a picnic, but a very late one. She was going for cheesy, and incredibly Castlely romantic. Kate wanted to make up for the time they couldn't spend together by creating good moments that would soon be great memories.

She spreaded a blanket in the grass, put some chapstick on her lips, organized the fruits in a basket, putting some cookies (some of which were homemade, and some of which she bought in the store) in the plastic plates, the wine (their favorite kind) in two cups. So they weren't glass cups, but who cares? This had to be good enough.

Within 3 minutes of waiting for Castle, he showed up. She saw him walking towards her. She was standing up as if waiting for him so they could sit down together. He looked handsome, as usual. Kate looked at him and let him come closer.

"Is this some sort of hot date?" Castle grinned and leaned in to kiss her, as if the answer didn't matter. Rethorical question.

They got lost in the kiss; Kate ran her fingers through his hair, Castle had one hand behind her neck and another on her hips. The perfect movie scene.

"So, shall we sit?" Castle asked, still a little breathless, and got a nod from his fiance.

They sat next to each other, not far at all. Castle always wondered why in coffee tables of restaurants, they have a table for two in which the couple sits in front of each other, instead of side by side. He always thought convenient to sit by Kate at all times, just in case they kissed - which he intended to do everyday, specially on a date.

"That is a lot of food," Castle grinned. He liked to think that she planned this, and took her time to make it look pretty for him. And it's not like they're fifteen anymore. "I didn't know we had that much food at home."

Kate took a sip of her wine and shook her head. "We didn't. I ran some errands when you were with Josh. And then I FacTimed Lanie for a bit, until you came home."

"Anything else you did in my absence today?" He was impressed with how busy she could get in a matter of hours.

"Well, I went running for an hour or so."

Only an hour? Kate usually ran for two hours, two and half. Sometimes even three.

"How come?" He asked, noticing how odd it was that she ran for an hour only.

Kate sighed. "I figured I should do my hair."

She didn't have as much time anymore to curl her hair in lower part of it, but today she did. And she looked even more beautiful, if that was possible.

"You didn't have to; you always look beautiful." He complimented her.

Kate smiled a little and shook her head at the same time. "You're an amazing man, but I know when I don't look great, Castle, and I use my time to fix it."

She decided to change the subject, or else they would be arguing about that for hours. Castle, always the gentleman.

"So, there are cookies, chips, oranges, apples, brownies…" She pointed at the food as she cited them.

Rick looked at two big plates full of cookies. "Did you make them?"

"I made the ones on the left, but I bought the ones on the right."

"When did you find time to make cookies today, woman?" Castle was amazed by how many things she could get done when he was not around. Maybe he was the one to blame for all the time wasted, after all. He kept trying to seduce her - or make her watch Star Wars.

Kate thought for a second. When did she make the cookies anyway? "Well, I bought the dough. I made them right after you left."

"So, you're being all romantic and domestic all the sudden… Should I worry?" Rick teased.

"I can be romantic, Castle. And I've always been a little domestic, too." She frowned, but playing along at the same time.

"Besides, I thought we haven't spent a lot of time together lately and I used my afternoon off to bring you here and… spend some quality time with my soon-to-be husband." Beckett smiled, but still felt a little bit guilty.

"Ah, you're good, you know that?" Castle grinned and kissed her temple, carefully avoiding her hair and trying to get to her skin.

"I'm serious, Castle. I'm really sorry I don't have as much time as I used to, but I'm trying my best to make it up to you. I love you, and I want to remember that. There's nothing better than, after a long day at work, coming home to you." Kate leaned in and kissed him softly.

Castle understood. He understood her and her frustrations, and he kept saying things to himself in order to feel better about the lack of time spent together.

"Kate, I know. I miss you so much everyday, it's hard to get up and face the day. You're not there with me, and I don't have anyone to bring coffee to anymore, but… It's okay. It is, because you have a bigger goal. And I get that. You're still new in the FBI, but you're amazing, and they're gonna see that soon. They're testing you, but you'll get more time when you're done with that part. And I get it."

Dang. He was good. He's just got a way with words that she can't even comprehend. It's too much for her, and ah, she loves him. She does. She misses him too, so freaking much every single day… He doesn't even know. But that's fine too, because you know what? She set up a picnic for him. Technically, a surprise picinic. She made cookies for him. She did groceries. She got their favorite wine. She wrote an "I love you" text to him this exact same day, showing him that she does not take him for granted.

The only problem is, some things get in the way. But there is nothing they can't do together. And she knows it too.

"You always have the best words. And I love you for it." They smiled at each other and decided to get to eating.

Rick noticed the opened wine bottle. "You opened the wine without me?" He feigned being upset.

"Sorry, babe, I couldn't wait forever." She teased him.

Castle looked at her raising an eyebrow. "Katherine Beckett, are you, by any chance, mocking my walking abilities?"

She smiled slyly. "It took you an eternity."

Castle decided to tease her back. "It may seem like forever when you're waiting for a ruggedly handsome guy to come."

Kate took a bite of her cookie. "And I'm still waiting."

Castle looked offended and decided to tickle her in revenge. He heard her giggles and thought that it was just a great feeling to be there with her, spending time together. Something he missed a whole lot.

"Am I ugly, then, Beckett?" He said, as he continued to torture her by tickling her sides.

"I never said that," Kate affirmed in response. She never really did say that, but that's what if felt like to him.

"Ok, so what am I?" He said and she only replied "stop" that time.

Castle laughed as he let go of her so she could have the chance to breathe.

"I am sorry if I don't run everyday, ok? I didn't know that was a part of being engaged to you." Castle started by eating an apple.

"Well, let's get you started on running then."

Castle looked offended again and decided to express his unhappiness. "So you bring me to this beautiful park, feed me with your delicious cookies, kiss me, and then insult me by saying I'm ugly and I need to get a better body? I don't understand your logic, Kate."

"I'm just teasing, babe. You know you are handsome and I have nothing to complain when it comes to your body."

Castle seemed satisfied with the answer and they got to eating some more. Kate told him about how things were going with the FBI - only what she was allowed to tell - and the colleagues she'd met and became friends with. It was a pretty nice day and night, and they both felt grateful to have each other. That was enough.


End file.
